


making shades of purple out of red and blue

by dreamylele



Category: NCT
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Boys In Love, Existentialism, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Mark + 00 line are all in their last year of school, Party, Skateboarding, Skater Boys, also there’s alcohol but they’re over 18, author cannot tag to save her life, chensung are a grade below but barely there, i messed with the ages a bit whoops, no editing we die like men, theres a broken arm but it’s not graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-10-27 03:37:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20753720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamylele/pseuds/dreamylele
Summary: It was quite daunting, really, to be a private school kid with little to no prior knowledge of skating, in a public skate park, with a cheap, second hand board and less than average confidence.





	making shades of purple out of red and blue

**Author's Note:**

> oh boy it’s finally here, my ‘official’ debut on ao3.
> 
> this was originally going to be a jaeyong space fic, but i re-listened to blue neighbourhood and for him was giving me real good markno skater boy vibes. so i changed the theme and the pairing and ended up with this bad boy.
> 
> i wanna give thanks to mods bill and ted, who orchestrated this whole fic fest (when i read the intro and prompts i was in hysterics, i loves the idea so so much), and who put up with me changing my whole story. you guys are the best!!! also thank you to mc who sits and listens to all my ideas and lets me talk her ear off about anything and everything.
> 
> (also thanks to my brother who read over my shoulder and gave jeno a jamaican accent. now i cant read jeno withOUT a jamaican accent)
> 
> most of this thing was written either on my morning commute (6am is not fun T_T) or on an 8 hour flight, so the writing and the editing is very much below mediocre. i’m probably going to revise and edit Again, but there won’t be major changes.
> 
> but either way, please enjoy !!

It was quite daunting, really, to be a private school kid with little to no prior knowledge of skating, in a public skate park, with a cheap, second hand board and less than average confidence. Which was why Mark was incredibly nervous when he noticed other people at the skate park when he arrived. 

There were only three kids at the park, two on their boards, seemingly in an intense battle of tricks? Mark wasn't too sure, but there was a lot of boards flipping underneath quick feet. The other one had his skateboard leaning vertically against his leg, as it's owner laughed and cheered along with his energetic friends.

Mark had seen these kids ride past his house before; his home close enough to the local park he could hear their shouts and laughter in the evenings after school. And he longed to have a life and friendship like that, rather than study dates with the underclassmen he tutors.

The one who wasn't trying to bruise his leg via board-to-the-shin noticed Mark standing at the edge of the park, and the two made brief eye contact, before the other kid broke it and turned back to his friends. He had honeyed skin, full cheeks and fluffy hair, yet despite the almost innocent appearance, the look he'd given Mark let him know he was probably much more impish and mean than his looks let on.

Mark was worried he'd call to his friends and bring attention to the newcomer in their territory, but he kept silent about the intruder, only glancing back for a second time before devoting his attention back to his friends.

Mark decided to seize the opportunity while the other three were occupied, to place his own board on the floor and push towards some of the smaller ramps in the middle of the park.

He'd practised in his street before coming to the park. Going from awkwardly balancing on the unstable surface, not used to a moving floor; progressing to shakily pushing forward at a snail's pace, to soon being able to glide down the street. The feeling Mark'd gotten when he'd placed both feet on the board underneath him, and was travelling fast enough to feel the wind through his short, black hair, was completely euphoric. It'd stopped soon after though, as he'd gotten too excited and lent too far forward, yelping as he jumped from the skateboard and let it continue to roll without him. However, he'd gotten a taste of the feeling, and craved to feel it again.

Once he got to the small ramps, he stepped off the board, leaning against the kicktail and bending forward to pick it up. He walked to the peak of the ramp and popped the board back on the floor, placing his left foot on it to keep it rolling down without him. His plan for today was to gain confidence and go faster.

He looked down the ramp, at the gentle slope and breathed deeply. It wasn't that steep and it was only a straight line, it'll be easy! He set his shoulders and lifted the foot that grounded him to the concrete, bending his knees slightly as he rolled down the ramp.

The ramp itself wasn't a problem, in fact, Mark was wholly ready to go down again. But no, the issue was when he'd come down from the ramp; the stopping. He hadn't thought far enough ahead, and realised with a start, he had no breaks.

In his panic, he reverted to his default stopping technique: jumping off the board. It continued to roll without him, up the larger ramp opposite to the one Mark had just ridden down, suspending half way up, before rolling back down and settling next to where Mark had jumped off.

Cheeks red with embarrassment, he glanced over to where the other guys were still messing around on their boards. However, instead of what he was hoping for, which was all three boys occupied in their own fun, he was met with two of the guys looking over at where he stood, one of them being the fluffy haired one who'd noticed him before. The other one had dyed blonde hair, high cheek bones and a sharp but understated jaw line. He had one foot rocking on his board, which was rolling back and forth. Their heads were close together, as if they had been talking quietly between each other, and with the way their eyes were trained in Mark's direction, he had high reason to think they were talking about him and his abysmal attempt at riding a skateboard.

Mark stared longingly towards the trees that lined the edge of the park, wishing he could just run into the woods and hide within it's shadows.

But his mumma didn't raise a quitter, and he was determined to learn something new. So he ignored the feeling of wanting to escape from the boys' scrutiny, and walked to his board, picking it up and marching it back up to the top. The blonde guy looked at his friend before pushing his other foot onto his board and coasting over to where the third of their party was still skating.

Mark put his board back on the top of the ramp and reassessed the feat. He was pretty confident in actually riding down the slope, it was just the stopping at the end. He'd seen videos of skaters turning sharply, almost perpendicular to the direction of descent, to stop their speed, but Mark wasn't ready to sprain a wrist just yet.

He remembered how his board had rolled up the ramp opposite the small one he was standing atop currently, before rolling down and stopping beside him, and he figured that might be a possible answer to the problem.

So he took another deep breath and looked to where he was going to skate. He glanced back at the other guys, the fluffy haired one having joined his other two friends on his own board. 

He stepped off the ground and onto the board, trying the slope for a second time. 

Again, going down the slope itself was completely fine, he loved the feeling of the wind ruffling through his hair as he got faster and faster, but the second slope was approaching too quickly and Mark froze up, not ready to brave the incline. He jumped from the board as it was reaching its highest point, awkwardly skidding down the concrete as his board slid down, again, without him on it. 

Before Mark has even glanced up to see if the other boys had noticed his atrocious failure, he heard a snort and a laugh from where they were on the other side of the park. The two boys who were looking at him before were standing together and looking over at Mark with huge grins on their faces. The other boy who was with them had stopped too, to see what his friends were giggling about.

Mark pouted, and walked over to where his board had rolled to a stop, standing on it and pushing off. He was hoping he could fluff around on the flat ground until the others got bored and left, so he could have the park, judgement free. 

He looked up periodically towards his company, the two boys obviously still talking about him, and seemingly waiting for him to try and fail at another easy ‘trick’. The other guy that was with them went back to skating on his own. 

Mark continued to roll around, curving slowly in wide arcs around the rails and ramps in the centre of the park. 

A little while passed, and the other kids still hadn’t left. After realising Mark probably wasn’t going to try anything else inherently stupid, the two gossipy boys went back to messing around on their boards with their friend. 

Bored with waiting, Mark picked up his board and turned to the big ramp he had tried to skate up before. He took a running start and climbed the concrete slope the top, sitting on the edge of the plateau at the top of the slope, board sitting next to him and legs dangling down the decline. 

He pulled his phone out and messed around on it for a little while. He’d been at the park for almost an hour, still waiting for the other kids to leave, when a voice startled him out of his haze. 

He was so lost in his own world that he hadn’t noticed an extra set of wheels scraping along the concrete, a lot closer than where he thought the other kids were. 

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to try skate down that.”

Mark shot his head up with a start, not expecting anyone to try to talk to him while he was here. He met the eyes of one of the guys from the trio that had been occupying the park, thankfully it was the one who wasn’t obviously making fun of his failures. 

He had a strong jawline and nose, broad and built upper body. His smile had pushed his eyes up into half crescents, but his grin wasn’t snarky, like his friends’. Instead, his was a lot kinder, more pitying than cold. 

“Umm, probably not. I reckon I’d break a leg if I tried that,” Mark replied to his query. 

The other guy laughed, “Glad to know you have a sense of self preservation.”

Mark laughed softly in reply, letting his legs swing on the ramp, his heels hitting and rebounding off the concrete. 

An awkward silence filled the space between them, before the other boy broke it. “Are you only just starting out with skating?”

Mark scoffed, “I’m really obvious, aren’t I.”

“A little bit, yeah. But hey! We’ve all got to start somewhere. Don’t think of it as a bad thing,” the other boy answered. “Do you want any help? I can give you a couple of tips and stuff if you want.”

“Only if you’re not just doing this to make fun of me,” Mark replies and looked out towards the boy’s friends, who were whispering and glancing over at Mark. 

The boy followed his line of sight to his friends and his eyes widened. “No, no, no! I’m not doing that I promise. And Hyuck and Jaem aren’t either. They just seem a little mean, but they’re not really.”

Mark sighed and slid down the concrete on his bum, skateboard in hand. “I guess I really need all the help I can get. Thank you…?” he trailed off, waiting for the other boy to give his name. 

“I’m Jeno!”

“Thank you, Jeno.” And then after a beat. “Uh, and I’m Mark.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mark. Now, what can and can’t you do?” Jeno asked, stepping off his board completely, hands on his hips. 

Mark rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “Uhm, can go in a straight line. Turn a little bit. I can crash too, I’m pretty good at that, evidently.”

“You’re not good at crashing, but I don’t want you to practice that,” Jeno laughed, “What were you planning on doing here today? If me and the boys weren’t here?”

“I want to ride down one of the ramps, I guess, but I can’t stop,” Mark answers quietly, still shy. Jeno stands tall and confident, even on the unstable platform of his skateboard, a complete contrast to Mark, who feels like the new kid in school, ogled like a zoo animal in this unfamiliar environment.

Jeno smiles with his lips pressed together, head tilted to the side. “There’s not really an easy way to stop on a board. There’s no obvious brake system, so it’s not like riding a bike. You could heel brake, but it’s easy to lose balance and you can wear down your deck if you don’t do it right.” Jeno lets out a sigh. “How about turning tighter? I saw before you can curve pretty well, just do fuller and longer turns once you’ve picked up speed.”

Mark is still in shock that this kid was nice enough to see he was struggling and offer to help, let alone giving him actual tips on how to skate. They stood there for a second before Jeno hesitantly shrugged, “Wanna give that option a go?”

“O-oh! Yeah! Yeah, alright,” Mark exclaimed awkwardly, nudging his board with his foot before picking it up and making his way back to the top of the mini ramp he was on before. “If you have any more tips, please please tell me, I’m flying blind here,” he calls over to Jeno.

Jeno, helpfully, shrugs his shoulders and lifts his hands into an ‘I dunno’ position. “Just turn tighter. The momentum should keep you upright and on your board.”

“Heh, should,” he mutters before putting one foot on his board, and then the other.

Mid way down the ramp, he decides it was not a wise decision to put faith into a stranger whose friends were laughing at how bad he was failing at skating. However, once he reaches the bottom of the ramp, the peak of his speed, he leans towards his front foot, turning the board sharper than he had before. It makes an almost complete U-turn, before Jeno shouts, “Now turn the other way!” Mark leans forwards this time, and he can feel the speed of the wind through his hair is actually getting slower. 

It all comes to an end as he sees the larger ramp, the one opposite his weeny one, and in a quick panic, jumps to the concrete. His board continues rolling without him. He gazes after it forlornly, watching as it and his dignity ride off towards the edge of the park. 

"That wasn’t half bad!” Jeno says, excitedly, “You wanna try not to bail, it's not really that clean. But the turns were great! Especially for a beginner, you’re taking to this really well.”

Mark turns from where he’s still watching his sad skateboard roll off slowly, throwing Jeno a look that says ‘Really?’. Jeno chucks him a double thumbs up in response.

“Go grab your board and we’ll try that again. I reckon you’d be able to do it soon.”

And so Mark jogs to his board, stepping up on it and pushing towards the mini ramp. He doesn’t look over at the skate bowl, not wanting the sneery faces of Jeno’s friends to dampen his resolve. If Jeno actually thinks he’s ok at skating, then Mark wants to accomplish something today. Mark is a pretty good judge of character, and this guy seems genuine, so he sets his shoulders and believes in Jeno’s words, skating down the ramp again.

He rides the ramp numerous times in that afternoon, getting the confidence to turn fuller and longer, and an hour has passed before Mark successfully slows his descent to a manageable speed. He cruises up next to Jeno, his board giving him a small amount of extra height.

“How was that, sensei?” he asks with a smile, knowing all too well that it was pretty much perfect.

Jeno’s eyes are crinkled shut with how wide he’s smiling, actually pride gracing his features. “That was really good, Mark! I told you, you’re such a natural at this, you’re picking it up way faster than I thought you would.”

“Yeah, man, that’s actually pretty impressive,” a new, more nasally voice adds in. Mark and Jeno turn to the addition, well, two additions, as Jeno’s friends have ridden up to where Mark and Jeno were, “You looked like a baby giraffe at the beginning there.”

The blonde boy whapped the other on the arm. “Hyuck! Don’t say that! That’s mean,” he scolded, before turning to Mark and praising him also. “You improved heaps, I was watching. And in only an afternoon, too. Nice stuff.” He held out his fist, and Mark hesitantly raised his own to bump it lightly with the other boy’s, the blonde boy’s face breaking out into the biggest toothy grin.

“Are you guys going to introduce yourselves, or..?” Jeno said expectantly.

“Oh right! Yeah, we’re Jeno’s friends. I’m Jaemin and this is Donghyuck,” the blonde boy pointed to himself and the soft looking kid, Donghyuck, in turn.

Mark gave them an awkward smile. “Uh, nice to meet you guys, I’m Mark.”

Jeno’s friends smiled back warmly, and offered to have Mark join them for the remainder of the afternoon. They stayed at the park for a little while longer, before Donghyuck’s mum called him and wanted him home for dinner. 

The boys rode together, bidding Mark goodbye as they passed his house and split from the rest of the group, with three new friends and phone numbers.

\---

A few days has passed since Mark had met Jeno, Jaemin and Donghyuck at the skatepark. Jeno had messaged him that morning, asking if he wanted to join the three for a bit after school at the park.

He skated round to the park, practising turning tightly on the way over. He got to the park, but only saw one person there, the blonde Jaemin from the weekend, lazily rolling around the concrete. He spotted Mark and waved at him, grinning largely as he skated over to where Mark was.

“Hey! Sorry it’s just me right now. The others aren’t here yet, obviously, Jeno had to get petrol,” he explained as Mark came into earshot.

Mark just shrugged. “That’s alright, I don’t mind.”

The pair stood in awkward silence for a moment, Mark mentally berating himself for his below-mediocre conversational skills.

“So, what school do you go to?” Mark asked Jaemin, reaching for some sort of topic.

Jaemin rubbed the back of his neck. “Ahh, um, I’m in a TAFE course, at the moment,” he said hesitantly, “I stopped normal school last year.” He looked down at his shoes.

“That’s cool! What are you studying there?” Mark could sense the embarrassment rolling off him in waves. 

“Carpentry. I- yeah.”

“You don’t sound that keen on it,” Mark replied to the lack luster responses Jaemin was giving him.

Jaemin tilted his head to the side and shrugged again. “Ahh, yeah. Not too many people were keen on me dropping out.”

“That’s… a bummer.”

“You can say that again.”

An awkward silence filled the space between the boys again, an unwanted guest in their conversation. 

“Well, I mean,” Mark started, trying to clear the air, “School isn’t for everyone. If you want to go down a path that strays from normal academics, I think that’s pretty neat. It’s brave to do something out of the norm, and to follow your dreams, rather than sit at a desk learning nothing that you’ll use in everyday life.”

Jaemin looked over to Mark, shocked. “You don’t think TAFE is stupid?”

Mark scoffed, “No way. It’s still like school, just, different. It takes a lot of maturity to realise something isn’t for you, and to change it so it does.”

“You don’t think I’m stupid either?”

“What? No! We’re all smart in our own ways. I’d never be able to make something with my hands. I’d probably chop my own arm off if you gave me any sort of power tool.”

Jaemin smiled his big toothy grin again. “You’re pretty cool, Mark,” he states simply.

Mark furrowed his brows, “What do you mean?”

“I thought you were just some uptight kid, who was from some hot shot school and therefore meant everyone else was below him,” Jaemin explains, amused, “A poseur, even. But no one other than Jen and Hyuck and my school counsellor have told me going to TAFE was a good idea.”

“I believe it’s your life, you live how you want. And, I guess, you’re pretty cool now, too, Jaemin.”

Jaemin furrowed his brows, puzzled. “Now it’s my turn to ask, what do you mean? I thought I was pretty cool to begin with.” Jaemin smiled jokingly. 

Mark hummer. “I honestly thought you guys were making fun of me and how bad I am,” Mark confesses. 

Jaemin laughs, “Nah, man. We were just curious to how you were going. We weren’t trying to be mean or anything. Everyone’s gotta start somewhere, you just started later than us.”

Mark looks up, smiling. “Thanks, Jaemin. I really appreciate that.”

Jaemin huffs, “Don't worry about it. Either way, Jeno’s appointed himself your teacher, and any friend of Jeno’s is a friend of all of us.”

Mark looked up at and met Jaemin’s eyes, shyly smiling. 

It was then that an old, white, Ford laser drove into the car park adjacent to the skate park. The driver parked the car only moments before the passenger door flew open and Donghyuck raced out and over the sparse grass, jumping on his board when he reached the concrete. 

“Yo, dudes!” He yelled as he skated up to Mark and Jaemin. He gave Jaemin a one-armed hug once he reached the pair, and a Mark a fist bump. “Dunno if you’re the huggy type,” he told Mark. 

Mark shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not too bothered by it.” Donghyuck took that as permission to smother Mark with a surprise bear hug. He caught the eye of Jeno, who had locked his car and began to skate to the boys, sending out distress signals. 

“Hey guys,” Jeno laughed at Mark’s misfortune, not helping him in the slightest. 

Donghyuck eventually let go of a squirming Mark, stepping back and over to his board. “I’m gonna start in the bowl, feel free to join.”

Mark straightened out his clothes, “Yeah, nah, that’s not happening.” 

“You can skate around the edge of it if you want to stick with us, or I can go somewhere else with you if you want?” Jeno offered. He stepped one foot onto his own board, ready to push off to wherever he was going to head to. 

Mark considered the options. “I’ll stick with you guys, but I’m definitely not going down the bowl.”

Jaemin laughed, “I mean, you can try.”

“Not if I want to leave here today in one piece,” Mark shot back, before skating slowly to the outer edge of the bowl. 

The other two joined Donghyuck in the concrete bowl, racing up and down the sides. Mark stayed on the higher, flatter ground, leaving plenty of space between himself and the lip of the bowl, not wanting to risk accidentally going over the edge. 

He’d stayed up all night the night before, studying for a difficult class he’d had at school that day, so he was exhausted. There was a set of stairs close to where he was skating, and after a while, he meandered over to them, leaning up against the rails that sat next to them. 

Mark watched the other three enjoy themselves in the park, contempt in just observing. 

A little bit later, Jaemin rode to where Mark was resting, jumping off his own board and leaning against the rails as well. They stood together in silence and continued to watch Jeno and Donghyuck speed down the sides of the concrete bowl, gaining air when they reached the edges, flipping their boards underneath their feet with the deftness and accuracy that mirrored professionals.

“They’re really good,” Mark stated. “Although, it’s not like I could pick what’s good and what’s not.”

Jaemin hummed, “No, you’re right. They are good. If you watch Jen’s feet when he gets air…”

Jaemin’s voice faded out as Mark took interest in simply watching Jeno in his element. Of course all his tricks looked clean and well executed, but he much preferred the beauty of Jeno’s smile when he came back down the bowl, the childish glee in his eyes as he was so obviously doing something he loved. The carefree look he had with the wind blowing his hair back-

Mark snapped out of those thoughts before they could progress, tuning back into Jaemin.

“It’s a shame though.”

Mark tore his eyes from Jeno’s concentrated form to glance at Jaemin curiously. “What do you mean?” he asked, and Jaemin sighed deeply.

“Jeno’s such a great skater, he’d easily be able to go pro. If he entered comps and stuff, he’d get sponsors lining up, but he doesn’t want to. He’s got so much talent it’s frustrating.”

They both watched as Jeno came to the edge of the bowl again, but instead of executing another flurry of tricks, stood up on the plateau of flooring. He noticed the two boys watching him and waved. Mark could make out his pure smile from where they stood, as he waved back. He jumped back on his board and down the bowl, just as Donghyuck lept from it himself, skating over to the pair of resting boys. 

“What are you two grannies gossiping about?” he asked as he skidded to a stop right before crashing into the rails they were leaning against.

“How good Jeno is,” Mark replied, and Donghyuck raised his eyebrows, throwing a look at Jaemin.

“As in Jeno’s good skating, or Jeno’s good looks?” he asked. 

Mark whipped his head to look at Donghyuck incredulously. “What?” he exclaimed, as Jaemin laughed loudly beside him. 

Donghyuck shrugged his shoulders, smirking. 

Jeno, having noticed he had been abandoned in the bowl, and instead was being watched like prey by his three friends, popping up from the side closest to the boys and riding over.

“What’s going on over here?” he asked as he rolled up.

“We’re shitting on your technique,” Jaemin responded.

Jeno pouted, and Jaemin simply stuck his tongue and blew a raspberry in response.

“C’mon, I wanna see Mark try the half pipe today,” Donghyuck said. 

Jaemin whooped and rode down to the large concrete semi circle, climbing to the ledge up the top, Donghyuck in tow. 

“You coming?” Jeno asked Mark, smiling slightly. “You don’t actually have to ride down it if you don’t want to.”

“We’ll see,” Mark replied, trailing after Jeno. 

He didn’t end up joining the others in actually skating, still contempt to watch the friends mess around. He mirrored Donghyuck’s stance from the day they met, skateboard leaning vertically against his leg, cheering on his friends and laughing with them too. 

Donghyuck’s words kept swirling through his mind as he watched the three boys have fun. None of his new friends were unattractive, in fact, all three looked as if they’d stepped off an MCountdown stage, but where Donghyuck and Jaemin looked quite young and boyish, Jeno’s facial structure gave him a more mature and intimidating look. Until he smiled and he was all the flowers and innocence the other two wished they had. But as Mark stood, eyes trailing over Jeno’s face and body, he couldn’t deny, Jeno was a fine piece. 

And this revelation wasn’t helpful in the slightest. 

He and Jeno had been texting back and forth on the days between their meeting and now, Jeno so cute and charming with his almost excessive use of emojis. He was really sweet and nice, and coupled with the realisation that Jeno was incredibly pretty, Mark was suspecting he had a little crush. 

Maybe. Probably. 

The others finished up where they were on the half pipe, and Jeno offered to drive Mark home. 

“It’s not too far from here, I don’t mind,” he suggested the idea. 

“If it’s really no trouble,” Mark replied. 

Jeno nodded his head to his car, “It’s all good, you’re on the way.”

“Thanks, Jeno.”

Mark and Jeno smiled at each other, starting to follow Donghyuck and Jaemin, who were tussling in front of them. 

“You’re really good at skating,” Mark mentioned nonchalantly. 

“Really? Thanks,” Jeno smiled bashfully.

As they walked, skateboards in hand, they subconsciously drew closer together, until their hands lightly brushed together. Mark resisted the urge to flinch away from the contact, even if it felt like he’d been zapped with electricity, instead he bit his lip and tried not to look at Jeno’s reaction. If he had looked over however, he would have seen the blood creep up the back of his neck and into his ears with an embarrassed flush.

Jaemin whipped around from where he was in front of them with a gasp. “Jeno! Can Mark come to your brother’s friend’s party this weekend?” he asked.

Jeno shrugged. “Only if he wants to,” he said as he turned his head to look at the boy beside him.

Mark pursed his lips and hesitated. “Like, like a house party?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot you were goody-two-shoes private school boy,” Jaemin teased. He and Donghyuck had paused walking to allow for the other two to catch up. “It’s not going to be crazy. Probably. Hopefully. It’ll be fun!”

“You can bring a few of your own friends too if that’d make you more comfortable?” Jeno added.

Mark sighed and dropped his shoulders. “Sure, why not.”

Donghyuck whooped, hands in the air, before stealing Jeno’s keys from his back pocket and sprinting to his car, hollering “Shotgun!” on the way.

Jaemin whined and slumped his shoulders, complaining about how “Hyuck always rides shotgun.”

The other three reach the car and hop on in, Jeno putting the key into the ignition and starting the car. 

They get to Mark’s house pretty quickly, because he lives so close to the park, Jeno pulling the car up alongside the curb. “I’ll text you about the party later on?” he asked as Mark opened his door to jump out.

“Sounds like a plan,” he replied, catching Jeno’s eyes in the rear view mirror and smiles, before thanking him and bidding the other boys goodbye, grabbing his skateboard and making his way inside.

\---

“Markie’s first party!” Donghyuck screeches from the open passenger window of Jeno’s car, as Mark steps out of his house and down the front lawn to the car. 

Jaemin opens the back door from the inside, scooching over to the other side of the back seat. “They grow up so fast,” Jaemin wipes an imaginary tear from underneath his eye as Mark slides in. 

He laughs along with the two as Jeno starts up his car, pulling away from the curb. 

“Yo Mark, can you give me directions to where your friend lives?” Jeno asks from behind the wheel. 

Unfortunately, Mark’s younger friends, Chenle and Jisung, had exams the next day, and their parents didn’t want them going out the night before. Luckily though, the fourth member of their group, Renjun, was more than happy to tag along, and since Jeno has two spare seats left in his car, he offered to pick up both Mark and his friend, and drop them home afterwards. 

Jeno drove, under Mark’s directions, to Renjun’s place; Mark texting him when they arrived outside. He stepped out of his house, locking the front door behind him, and Mark opened the backseat door closest to the curb, scooching to the middle seat and pressing up against Jaemin to allow Renjun room in the car. 

“Mark, you didn’t tell me your friend was so cute,” Jaemin whined into his ear before Renjun got in and overheard the comment. 

Mark laughed in reply, “He’s a whole dumbass.”

“C’mon Mark, I thought we’d gotten you to stop talking about yourself in the third person,” Renjun said as he slid into the backseat, having overheard Mark’s comment. “Hey everyone, I’m Renjun.”

“I like you already,” Donghyuck turned around in his seat to fist bump Renjun, “I’m Donghyuck, driver is Jeno,” Jeno raised his hand in greeting with a ‘Sup!’, “And blondie in the back there is Jaemin.”

Jaemin leaned forward to smile past Mark at the newcomer. Renjun smiled back cutely, Jaemin returning to his seat with a flush on his cheeks. 

“I’ve fallen in love,” he whispered to Mark. Mark just laughed again in response. 

The car ride to the party was relatively uneventful, the five boys singing badly to the pop music playing through the radio. They were poking fun at the latest Red Velvet comeback, wildly flailing their arms in an attempt to mimic the choreography. Until Mark convinced Renjun to belt out the high note in the bridge, Donghyuck and Jeno cheering from the front seats, Jaemin whispering, “Oh my god,” from the other side of Mark. 

All too soon, they arrived, the five boys getting out of the car, slamming the doors shut behind them. There weren’t that many cars in the street yet, so Jeno has managed to get a park fairly close to the venue. Jeno led the others up to the door, ringing the doorbell and waiting for a response. 

A tall and built guy opened the front door, leaning against the frame. “Hey, Jeno,” he greeted, “You’re early than usual.”

“Yeah,” Jeno hummed, “I had to pick up a few extra.” 

“The more the merrier, amirite?” the guy smiled warmly, holding the door open for the boys to head in. 

He nodded in familial greeting to Donghyuck and Jaemin, obviously having met them before. As Mark and Renjun went to step over the threshold, though, he stopped them with a hand on Mark’s arm. 

“Jeno’s brother mentioned he was bringing more, it’s good to meet you both. I’m Jackson, this is my place,” he introduced himself. 

The other two also introduced themselves to Jackson, albeit a little awkwardly. 

“I dunno what Jen’s told you already, but I’ve got some house rules. One, don’t do stupid shit. Two, if you do do stupid shit tell me straight away because it might be fixable. Three, have your ride home planned already. And four, party on, dudes!” he waved his hand towards the inside of the house in invitation.

The two boys smiled at Jackson as they stepped inside, Renjun patting Mark’s head like a puppy and adding, “Don't worry, I’ll keep him in check.”

Jackson grinned and said teasingly, “I’m sure you will.”

Mark pouted at the both of them as they walked down the entry hall and into the living room, where Jeno, Donghyuck and Jaemin were already lounging around with a half a dozen uni-aged people. Jeno waved Mark and Renjun over to where he was sitting, patting the space next to him on the couch. As they ambled over to Jeno, Mark was a little confused about the lack lustre vibe of the party. There weren’t that many people, and there was a significant lack of music Mark had familiarised himself with from movies. 

“We got here a bit early, so the party hasn’t really started yet. I just wanted to introduce you to my brother and his friends,” he explained, as if he’d read Mark’s mind. He pointed out a tall, spindly, dark haired boy on the other side of the living room, “That’s my older brother, Doyoung,” he pointed to the brown haired boy sitting next to him, “His boyfriend, Jaehyun,” he then motioned to a very long limbed guy with cat-like features, who was currently smothering Donghyuck in an uncomfortable looking hug, “That’s Johnny, he’s from America.” Johnny lifted a hand in a two fingered salute, which allowed for Donghyuck to wriggle his way free from the hug, flopping himself on the girl sitting next to Johnny on the couch instead. “The girls are Seungwan and Sooyoung,” Jeno indicates towards the girl Donghyuck had splayed himself over, and another girl on the other side of Jeno. “Everyone! This is Mark and Renjun,” he spoke up, introducing his new friends to the others. 

It was then that Jackson had come out from where he was in the kitchen, a stack of bowls in one arm and a multitude of junk food in the other. “Can I get one of you to help me put the food out?”

Mark made to stand up, not wanting to seem like a rude guest, but Jackson gave him a pointed look. “Not you, you’re new and cute so you’re not allowed to help.”

Mark pouted again at being called cute, to which Jaehyun laughed, deep dimples on his cheeks popping as he did, and ruffling Mark’s hair as he walked past to help Jackson decant the food.

As Jackson and Jaehyun finished up pouring the food into bowls, and Sooyoung connecting the surround speakers to music, the doorbell rang. Jackson left to go answer it, coming back with a few more older people in tow. 

They came and sat down with the others, obviously familiar with the older guys in the house, a little so with Jeno and his friends. 

As the afternoon sun disappeared and bled into night, more and more people arrived at Jackson’s house. The music was turned up louder, drinks were poured into red solo cups, and the party began. 

Whatever expectations Mark had about house parties, this one definitely hit right on. The living room was full of university students, apart from Mark and his friends, and another girl who introduced herself as Yerim, Sooyoung's younger sister. She seemed familiar with Jeno, Donghyuck and Jaemin, hanging around the boys until Seungwan whisked her away to join in a game with the other girls attending the party.

A short while after Yerim joined the other girls at the party, the boys split up as well. Donghyuck dragged Jeno to join a game of beer pong with a handful of the older guys (Jeno looked back as Donghyuck pulled him along by his elbow, mouthing ‘sorry’ to Mark); Jaemin had disappeared quickly too, only to reappear soon after with three cups. 

“Have you ever had alcohol?” he asked, as he passed the cups to Mark and Renjun. 

“I had champagne at my brother’s birthday last year, but I haven’t been drunk off it,” Renjun replied, taking a sip from his cup. “What’s in this? It’s actually kinda good.”

Jaemin took a mouthful of his own drink before replying, “It’s fruit punch with something in it. I’m not actually a hundred percent sure, but it won’t be enough to get you wasted.”

Renjun smirked at Mark. “Mark’s a complete lightweight, I reckon he could challenge that.”

“Is it your job to make fun of me in front of my new friends,” Mark whined, clutching his cup with both hands. 

Jaemin and Renjun laughed, to Mark’s dismay. 

“So, Jaemin, how’s your course going? Mark told me you were at TAFE,” Renjun asked once he and Jaemin recovered laughing. 

Jaemin dropped his gaze at this. “Yeah, it’s ok. We’ve got exams coming up soon so I’m a little nervous for that.”

“I reckon you’ll do fine. You seem dedicated to it. I’ll be rooting for you anyway.”

“Thank you,” Jaemin smiled. “What about yourself?”

Renjun laughed loudly. “Oh man. I’ll just say that even if you dropped school to go somewhere else, at least you’re doing a course with job security and alright pay.”

Jaemin cocked his head in confusion. 

“I want to go into the performing arts. Anything will do, I just want to be on stage,” Renjun explained. 

“Well, you certainly have the face for stage,” Jaemin commentes suavely. 

Renjun, although blushing, held Jaemin’s gaze and smirked, “Thanks. And if TAFE doesn’t end up working out, you can always go into acting or modelling.”

Jaemin’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, before he laughed. “Thanks as well.”

Mark, still standing awkwardly to the side of the conversation, soon became tired of being the third wheel in the flirting Jaemin was trying on Renjun. Luckily, Johnny, Jeno’s brother’s tall friend, found and rescued Mark. 

“Come play with us, you can escape from Jaemin,” he slung his arm over Mark’s shoulder, steering him away from the couple. 

The game he ended up joining in with was the beer pong Donghyuck had been participating in already. Jeno stood at the edge of the table, watching everything unfold. Mark went to stand beside him as Johnny let him go to join in with a team. 

“You’re not playing?” he asked, clapping as Doyoung landed a ping pong ball in a cup. 

“Nah, I’ve got to drive your asses home so I can’t drink,” he answered. 

Everyone cheered again as Donghyuck landed a ball in another cup. 

A tall guy came to stand next to Jeno, offering him a fruity smelling cup, however Jeno refused. 

“You don’t have a cup, though, man!” The guy exclaimed, confused as to why Jeno would turn down a drink. 

Jeno smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Bam, I’m DDing tonight.”

The guy (Bam?) pouted cutely before noticing Mark and offering the cup to him. “Do you want it? I made too much. It’s like a West Coast Cooler but less pukey, ya know?”

Mark hesitated, not sure if he should be accepting drinks from strangers at a party. The guy seemed friendly enough, but he didn’t want to risk it. Jeno noticed his reluctance and took the cup anyways. 

“We’ll give it a go. If Mark doesn’t like it, Hyuck’ll drink it.”

The guy raised his eyebrows in surprise. “This is the Mark? Hey man, I’m Bam Bam, one of Jackson’s ride or dies.”

Mark, still too social awkward to interact with guys a few years older than him, held out his hand for Bam Bam to shake. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you.”

“Like wise!” Bam Bam took his hand with stride. “If you ever need anything let me know. Jackson loves you already, so you’ve gotta be a pretty cool dude.”

“Um, thanks?” Mark said as Bam Bam saluted him and walking back into the throngs of people at the party, after handing off the cup to Jeno. 

Mark then turned to Jeno. “Bam Bam?” he asked. 

Jeno laughed. “Yeah, he’s Thai, so his real name has a few too many consonants. Bam Bam’s just his nickname.”

“Ohhh,” Mark nodded in understanding, before peering into the cup Jeno was given. 

Jeno noticed his curiosity and offered him the cup. “You don’t have to drink it if you don’t want to. It’s probably got way too much alcohol for you to handle, considering you haven’t really drunk before. I’ll just give it to Hyuck once he’s finished the game.”

Just as he said that, cheers erupted from around the table. The two boys turned to see Donghyuck chugging back the last cup of beer that was on the table. 

“Orrr, maybe not. He’s had enough I think.”

Mark laughed. “I think so too. I’ll give the drink a try though. It smells… interesting.”

Jeno handed him the concoction. “Just as long as you don’t throw up in my car.”

The drink was sickly sweet, like bad pascito. Mark screwed up his face in disgust at the taste, Jeno laughing hard next to him. 

“You don’t like it?”

Mark shook his head, tacking his tongue. 

“Did Bam Bam give you one of his magic potions?” Johnny called from one end of the table, laughing at the face Mark was pulling. 

Mark nodded, the sickly taste still in his mouth. Jaehyun, who stood at the end closest to Mark, leant over to him, offering his cup. “Here, have some of this to get the taste out.”

Mark took the offered cup, drinking a mouthful, before handing it back to Jaehyun. 

“Thanks, that helped a lot,” he said as Jaehyun gripped the cup again. 

Donghyuck swayed his way over to Jeno and Mark, smile bright on his face. “So neither of you are gonna drink that?” he asked, pointing a finger to the gross cup still in Mark’s hand.

The boys shook their heads, and Donghyuck plucked the cup from Mark’s grasp, taking a sip. 

Mark waited for the taste to hit and Donghyuck to give the cup back, but he simply took another drink from it and skipped around to the other side of the table. “‘Nother round?” he asked. 

“Not for you,” Johnny said, patting Donghyuck on the head like a puppy. “But I don’t mind playing again, if we have equal teams.”

“I’ll grab more beer,” Jeno offered and walked to where the cups and keg were placed. 

Jaehyun followed after him, “I’ll help.”

As they were setting up for the next game, Mark started to get a bit light headed and dizzy. Jeno caught him as squinted his eyes shut and opening them again. 

“You ok, Mark?” he asked quietly. 

Mark hummed in response. “Yeah, just a bit dizzy.”

Jeno frowned. “You probably mixed too many drinks too quickly. Do you want me to get you some water?”

“No, no, I can get some, you keep setting up the game.”

“Alright, if you’re sure,” Jeno replied, “Coming back once you’ve got a glass?”

Mark nodded, before walking towards the kitchen. 

He passed the lounges on his way, the other two boys he arrived with sitting on one of the couches. 

Jaemin looked all too pleased at the leg that was thrown over his lap, and the head leaning against his shoulder, both of which belonged to Renjun. 

Mark made it to the outside of the kitchen before the pulsing music and strobing lights, mixed with the alcohol in his system, made the room spin again. He grabbed onto the nearest surface, which happened to be a bar stool, one of which Jackson occupied. 

“You alright, man?” Jackson asked as Mark gripped the curling steel on the back of the chair. 

“Yeah,” Mark mused in reply, “Everything just got a bit spinny.”

Jackson stood up and rushed around the bench into the kitchen, grabbing a tupperware cup and filling it with water from the sink. He passed it to Mark over the counter, then leaning over the counter and pointing around the corner. “Go drink the water and get some air. The door round the corner there will take you to the back patio.”

Mark smiled in thanks, already taking a sip from the cup. He walked around the corner, unlatching the door and sliding it open, stepping out into the cool night air. The air was still, no breeze coming through, but the night air still left a chill on Mark’s slightly sweaty skin. He walked out to the edge of the patio, leaning his forearms against the wooden and wire balustrade that lined the edge. The world was still tilting slightly, the stars above swirling like a kaleidoscope, but his head wasn’t pounding anymore. The music was still discernible from outside the house, but much more muted and not piercing his brain.

He took a deep breath, letting it out before taking a mouthful of water. Despite the slight sensitivity to the overwhelming environment Mark was having a lot of fun. It was refreshing to break the routine of study, school, extra-curriculars, to hang out with his new friends somewhere other than the skatepark. He enjoyed the company of the older people too, they had all accepted him into their world, not caring that he was a few years younger; it was nice not being treated like a kid. 

The chilliness of the air was starting to sober Mark up, the world had stopped spinning, but he still felt light. As he was taking another sip of water, the sliding door opened, the music from inside becoming louder and clearer, before it closed again, muting the loud bass and electronic sounds of the songs.

Mark turned around, expecting to see Jackson, but instead was met with Jeno, a small bowl of chips in his hands.

“You all good out here?” he asked coming to stand beside Mark, placing the bowl on the railing.

Mark hummed, downing the last of the water. “Jackson got me some water and told me to stand in the fresh air for a bit,” Mark said. “You ok too?”

“Yeah, you just didn’t come back to the table, and Jackson told me you’d gone outside. I just came to check that you were alright.” Jeno turned his head towards the sky. “I also wanted to see the stars.”

“The stars?” Mark asked, confused.

Jeno smiled, still facing the sky. “Yeah. I love the stars. They ground me, and life’s just been a bit tricky the past few days, so I wanted a reminder.”

“What do you mean? I’m sorry I still don’t get it.”

“That’s ok,” Jeno then turned to look at Mark, eyes bunched due to his smile, “Everything we see in the sky is so beautiful, but it’s also so far away. And I feel like people take that for granted a lot of the time. Like, we see the moon, but a lot of the time we don’t see it. It’s a huge, perfectly spherical rock that’s flying around Earth. And then Earth itself, it’s just a big rock with water that’s suspended in nothingness. And the stars. The stars are huge balls of fire and gas, a lot of them bigger than our own sun, and they’re so far away in their own solar systems and galaxies, and it makes our own little earth seem so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. We’re just one person of billions on one planet of trillions in the middle of the universe. And the stars help to remind me that.”

Mark stood in stunned silence for a little while. Jeno laughed, “I’ve probably scared you a bit, haven’t I?”

“No, no! I’m just,” Mark gestured an ‘explosion’ with his hands.

Jeno smiled and looked back out to the sky. “Yeah, I get that.”

“I didn’t expect to have an existential crisis when I agreed to come to a party,” Mark said, turning to look at the sky with Jeno.

The pair stood, leaning on the railing of the patio, looking up to the sky and admiring the stars together. 

“My dad wants me to a lawyer,” Jeno broke the silence a while later.

“Do you want to be a lawyer?” Mark asked.

Jeno scoffed, “No way. I don’t really know what I want to be, but I’ve already told my parents law and medicine is out. They didn’t care about me not wanting to do medicine. Doyoung’s studying to be a paramedic, so I guess they’re happy there’s at least one doctor in the family. They even overlooked the fact that he has a boyfriend.” Jeno sighed and closed his eyes. “I hate disappointing them, but I just want to do what I want to do.”

“That… sucks man. I don’t really know what to say to that,” Mark replied after a pause.

“Nah, it’s all good. I just needed to vent.” Jeno went back to smiling and looking up to the sky. “But hey, life is small and insignificant, I’m just going to do whatever and hope I can convince my parents to let me do that.”

Mark turned and looked a Jeno, at the blissful look on his face, the moon illuminating his skin.

Jeno had more stars in his eyes than there were painted in the sky above.

He turned suddenly, locking eyes with Mark. “What about you? What do you want to do after school?”

Mark averted his eyes abashadley. “I actually want to do law. I’ve applied for a couple of unis, I just have to wait to see if I get into any.”

“That’s still pretty cool. Just because I don’t want to be a lawyer doesn’t mean I think it’s a horrible occupation and no one should do it.”

Mark hummed. “I’m still not sure if it’ll be the be all and end all of my career though. I figured I like it enough to give it a go, but I’m planning to take a few creative writing and music production courses as minors.”

“You wanna go into music, too?”

Mark nodded, “Yeah, I love making music, I made a few of my own songs, put them on soundcloud.”

“So I’m friends with a soundcloud rapper then, huh?” Jeno teased, but after noticing his pout, added on, “No, it’s cool! I’ll have to check out your stuff.”

Mark looked down at his hand, swirling the water around in his cup. “Eh, it’s more of a hobby, none of my stuff is really that great.”

“Hey,” Jeno bumped his shoulder into Mark’s, “If you like it, you like it. Don’t put yourself down like that.”

Mark just huffed in reply. 

“If one of my friends enjoys doing something, I wanna support them in it.”

Mark looked back up at Jeno, who was staring intently back at him. Mark smiled lightly, “You’re too nice to everyone.”

Jeno smiled back, “You can never be too nice.”

The two boys stayed outside for a little while longer, Mark continuously making small glances at the other beside him (but not realising Jeno was doing the same).

Jeno suggested they reimmerse themselves into the party, a little while later, and as they walked back through the sliding glass door, Jeno looking back at him with one of his gorgeous smiles, Mark had an epiphany. 

They’d only known each other for barely a month, and Mark thought he just had some sort of silly crush on a pretty boy who was nice enough to help him out. But sitting together underneath the stars while a party played on in the house behind him, Mark realised, he could very well fall in love with Jeno Lee. 

—-

It'd been a month since Mark had realised the gravity of his feelings towards Jeno. A month since the party, where they sat and talked about everything and nothing, and where Mark saw what an angel Jeno Lee truly was.

Jeno, Donghyuck and Mark were at the skatepark, unsurprisingly, Mark perched atop one of the steep ramps next to everyone’s stuff that they’d dropped before heading to the rails in the centre of the park. 

Jeno and Donghyuck were making an impromptu trip to the park to work off some stress from assignments, when they’d driven past Mark’s house and thought he might want to tag along too. Jaemin was having a ‘study session’ with Renjun, (code for Jaemin making aggressive heart eyes at Renjun across the table) so the two of them couldn’t come along. 

Mark was content to just sit on top the skate ramp and watch his two friends muck around on their boards. He told himself he was watching Jeno for tips on his own skating, but really, he was just taking this opportunity to admire him without it being weird. 

The two boys practiced tricks on the rails for a bit, before Donghyuck took off towards the bowl, riding down over the edge, catching air as he came up over the other side. Jeno stayed near Mark, still on the rails. 

As Mark was watching him, he noticed Jeno seemed to get less and less airborne each time he tried to jump on the rails. 

He’d taken his eyes of Jeno for a few seconds, Donghyuck calling for him from the bowl to watch his trick, when the park was suddenly filled with the awful sound of a pained yell, and the scraping of metal and wood. 

Mark immediately jumped from his seat, skidding down the ramp and sprinting to where Jeno was, laying on the concrete, hand cradled to his chest. 

“Jeno! What happened?!” he yelled as he slid to a stop and fell to his knees beside the hurt boy. 

Jeno only groaned in response, rolling into his back, eyes squeezed closed, face pulled in a sour expression from the pain. Donghyuck came skating over, too, jumping from his board and letting it roll away, to preoccupied with his hurt friend to worry about it. 

Donghyuck gently placed his hand over the one pressing Jeno’s wrist to his chest. “What’d you do, man? How much does it hurt?”

“Doesn’t hurt that much, just give me a second,” Jeno whispered in reply, his breathing fast and heavy. 

Mark furrowed his brows, unsure what to do. Jeno was in obvious pain, 

“Come on, Jen. Let’s get you sitting up,” Donghyuck slid his arm underneath Jeno’s shoulders, pushing him up to a sitting position. Jeno whined as he was moved, and Mark darted his hands out in a knee jerk reaction to the pained sound. Jeno started to slump forward a bit, and Donghyuck had to push at the front of his shoulders to keep him from falling forwards. “Lean against Mark, so we can see what you’ve done.”

Mark scooted behind Jeno, letting the boy lean all his weight against his body. With the close proximity, he could feel the quick and shaky breaths Jeno was letting out, and he brought up a hand to gently rub up and down Jeno’s uninjured arm in an attempt to soothe him. 

Donghyuck sat in front of Jeno, and tried to pry his arm from the vice grip he had it against his chest. He must have grabbed a particularly sore part, as Jeno let out a loud gasp, and his eyes flew open, wide and glassy, filling with tears. 

“Come on, Jeno, you’re obviously hurt, but we gotta know how bad,” Donghyuck said soothingly, and Mark felt Jeno’s breath even out a bit. 

Slowly, Jeno and Donghyuck stretch Jeno’s arm out in front of him. It didn’t look obviously broken, but it was starting to bruise and swell. Donghyuck pursed his lips at the sight of purpling skin, before gently pressing Jeno’s arm back against his chest. 

“It could be broken, but also might not. We gotta take you to the hospital just in case though,” he said as he sat up on his knees, ready to help Jeno stand. 

Jeno shook his head. “It’s not that bad, I swear, I’m fine,” he said shakily. 

“Jeno, seriously, you’ve got to get up.”

“Jeno,” Mark said softly before he could rebut Donghyuck again, “Come on.”

Jeno let in a big shaky breathe, exhaling again before sitting up from where he was still leaning against Mark. Donghyuck reached forward to grab Jeno’s shoulders and help him stand. 

Once he was standing, Donghyuck turned to Mark. “I’m gonna go get his car started and drive it closer, can you get him over to the edge of the park?”

Mark nodded in agreement and Donghyuck ran off, climbing the ramp to get Jeno’s keys before sprinting off towards the car park. Mark turned to Jeno, “Come on, do you reckon you can walk on your own?”

Jeno sniffed and frowned. “You guys are making such a big fuss. I’m fine,” he pouted and Mark sighed. 

“I know you may think you’re fine, but it was a pretty hard fall and it’d give us peace of mind.”

Jeno huffed and turned his head to look at Mark, their faces a lot closer than either had anticipated. Both boys froze, staring into each other’s wide eyes, before Mark remembered he was supposed to be walking Jeno to his car. 

“Just,” he smiled, “Humor me. There’s no harm in going.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m going,” Jeno whispered in reply. “I can walk fine, it’s just my arm, I think.”

Mark still takes the opportunity to hold Jeno’s waist to guide him to the bollards that line the park, and where Donghyuck is waiting in the driver's seat of Jeno’s car. He gets out, engine still running, and opens the backseat door. 

“You two get in, I’ll run grab the boards and stuff,” he says as he runs back across the concrete, towards the two boards that lay abandoned. 

Mark helps Jeno into the backseat of the car, and as he’s about to duck his head back out and close the door, Jeno reaches out his good arm. “Sit back here with me? Please?” he pleads, wide eyed, looking like a puppy. 

Mark smiles gently and climbs in beside Jeno, buckling his seat belt before helping Jeno with his. Donghyuck sprints back with their boards and the jumpers that were left at the top of the ramp where Mark had been sitting. He chucks everything into the boot of the car before jumping back into the driver's seat, pulling out of the car park and towards the hospital. 

The drive is relatively silent, save for the car radio softly playing the sports and talk channel Jeno had it tuned to before. No one spoke, until Mark looked over at Jeno and saw him wiping away blood from his face. 

“What’s that?!”

Jeno looked up at Mark, then down at his hand. “Uhh, ketchup?”

Mark frowned, eyes incredulously on the red on Jeno’s hand, before leaning over and cupping Jeno’s cheek in one of his hands. “Where’s it coming from?” he asked, eyes searching Jeno’s face for the source of the blood. Jeno sucked in his bottom lip, and Mark tracked the action. 

“I think I just bit my lip when I fell,” he explained. And then, with his eyes confidently staring into Mark’s, he asked, “Do you wanna kiss it better?”

Donghyuck dry heaved from the driver’s seat. 

Meanwhile, Mark’s whole face flushed a bright pink, his eyes darting back down to Jeno’s lips, before Jeno realised what he’d said. Jeno’s face warmed under Mark’s hand and Mark retracted it from Jeno’s face, sitting back in his own seat. 

Donghyuck glanced in the rear view mirror at the two flaming red faces of the boys, who were now pointedly not looking at each other, and turned up the volume on the radio. 

—-

The rest of the drive to the hospital was filled with the constant babbling from the car radio. 

Donghyuck pulled into a parking space the front of the ER, shutting off the engine and climbing out of the driver’s seat. Mark got out of his side of the back seat, Donghyuck opening the other door and helping Jeno out. Mark walked around to the other side of the car, joining the other two boys and following them through the automatic doors and into the ER. 

Luckily the waiting area seemed relatively empty, and Mark hoped that meant they’d be able to get Jeno through and treated quickly. 

The triage nurse took one look at the way Jeno held his arm to his chest and sighed. 

“What’s happened here, boys?” she asked. 

“Fell off my skateboard,” Jeno muttered lowly, embarrassed. 

The nurse smiled sympathetically, tapping on her computer. “What hurts and where?”

“My arm hurts the most. And my head too,” he answered, not looking at either of his friends. 

Mark snapped his head to look at Jeno. “You hit your head, too?” he exclaimed. 

“Just a little bit, I think it’s just grazed,” Jeno hung his head. 

“Alright, Mr Lee, could I please have your date of birth and address, and a medicare card if you have one,” the nurse asked. 

Jeno rattled off his information, and Donghyuck pulled out a green card from Jeno’s wallet, handing it over to the nurse. 

“Thank you, boys. Mr Lee, if you could please follow me?”

The nurse left her station behind the perspex and opened a door off to the left, ushering Jeno through. 

“Sorry, boys, but you’ll have to wait out here for a bit,” she explained when Donghyuck tried to push through the door too. 

Mark held his shoulder to keep him from attempting to go through again. “That’s ok. C’mon Hyuck.”

He steered them over to some seats that lined the walls of the ER waiting area, the two boys plopping themselves down, exhausted from the adrenaline drop. 

“I hope he’ll be ok,” Mark sighs, brows furrowed in worry. 

Donghyuck tilts his head back against the wall. “He’s probably just fractured it. It didn’t look super broken, which is lucky. Easier recovery,” he explains. 

Mark hums in response, gazing impatiently at the door Jeno and the nurse had disappeared through. 

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the incessant clacking of the triage nurse’s nails on their keyboard. Mark started to close his eyes in wait, only to be interrupted by Donghyuck asking, “So, when are you gonna ask him out?”

Mark chokes on his own spit, coughing and staring incredulously at Donghyuck, who was lounging backwards, a smug and knowing smile gracing his face. “What are you talking about?” 

“Jeno doesn’t have the balls to ask you out. He’s a bit of a pussy, really. I dunno why you like him.”

“I, what?” Mark was still speechless. 

“Oh come on, Mark,” Donghyuck said, exasperated. “You’ve been making oogly eyes at him since you meet him! And I was in the car as well when he asked you to kiss him. And you were actually thinking about it, I could tell,” he explained. 

“Does, does Jeno know?”

“I wouldn’t say he knows, but he’s got a clue. Just too scared to do anything about it. He likes you too, ya know?”

Mark made a squeal-like noise at the back of his throat in surprise. 

“All he used to talk about was skating this, skating that, blah blah blah, come skating with me. But now you’re always in the topic of talk. ‘Do you think Mark can make it today?’, ‘I wonder how Mark did on his exams’, it’s honestly exhausting.” Donghyuck imitated Jeno with an inaccurate high pitched voice. 

Mark had prepared himself to secretly pine after Jeno for the rest of his life, but after learning there may be a chance he reciprocated his feelings, Mark’s heart fluttered with anticipation. 

And with perfect timing, a nurse opened the door that Jeno had disappeared through, calling out “Jeno Lee?” to the waiting room. 

Donghyuck jumped to his feet, grabbing Mark’s elbow and pulling him to his feet as well. 

“Yeah, we’re his friends,” he exclaimed as he dragged Mark with him to the nurse. She gave the two a once over, before beckoning the pair through the door. 

“He’s come out lucky, from a skating accident. Fractured radius and slight concussion, so even though we’ll send him home once he has his cast on, it would be wise to have someone with him tonight to make sure the headache he has doesn’t progress into something worse,” she explained as the two boys trailed after her down the bleach white corridors of the hospital. 

They soon reached an open door, and Mark could see the back of Jeno’s dark, messy hair. The nurse knocked on the door, and Jeno turned his head to see who was there, smiling when he saw his two friends hovering in the doorway. He had his left arm in the air, where a heavy set man was wrapping it in a white cast. 

“Yo, I so call dibs to be the first to sign your cast,” Donghyuck tells Jeno, “Jaemin’s gonna be so mad.”

Jeno laughs, looking a lot more relaxed, probably from the pain meds the hospital gave him. “Jokes on you, Hyuck. I’m getting it done black. I don’t want any of your demon scribbles on my arm.”

Donghyuck’s face fell, defeated. “Jenoooo, why?” he whined, while Jeno chuckled again. 

“Kidding, I’m kidding. I think I’m gonna get blue,” Jeno tried to calm the pouting Donghyuck. “You three can go ham with the doodles, just no dicks, please.”

Donghyuck let out a tiny, high pitched, “Yee!” and Jeno and Mark shared a small smile together. 

As the cast technician pulls out a light blue microfibre wrap, the nurse speaks up again. “Once Jeno’s cast is on, you three are all set to leave. Just go out the way you came in.” She then turns to Mark, “You look like the most responsible.” Donghyuck scoffs. “These are for Jeno’s head, if his headache gets too much. Just one will do to ease the pain.” She hands Mark a box of painkillers, the name of them looking like a keyboard smash, before patting Jeno’s shoulder. “I hope you have a speedy recovery Mr Lee,” she says before leaving the room. 

—-

They leave the hospital, Donghyuck bounding towards Jeno’s car, explaining that he’s pretty sure there’s a Nikko pen in the console. Jeno holds back a bit, Mark walking beside him. “You ok now?” he asks. 

Jeno hums. “Yeah, I think so. My head isn’t hurting that much, and my arm just feels a bit weird, ‘cause I can’t move it.”

“But you’re not hurting?”

“Nah,” Jeno shakes his head gently, “Just feeling a bit airy fairy, ya know? From all the drugs.”

Mark smiles and bumps their shoulders together. “You let me know if you’re sore at all. Don’t act all macho, ok?”

“Ok,” Jeno sighs, as they walk out the automatic glass doors of the ER entrance. 

Donghyuck’s already digging through the glove box of Jeno’s car, searching for a permanent marker, giggling with glee when he emerges triumphant, a marker held above his head. “Come here,Jen. I’ve gotta christen the cast.”

Jeno sighs but still wanders over to Donghyuck, who uncaps the pen and holds Jeno’s arm, scribbling something onto the microfibre. Jeno watches Donghyuck work, before gasping and pulling his arm away. 

“Hey you gremlin! I said no dicks on my cast!” 

Donghyuck cackles, capping the pen. “Already done! Can’t get rid of it!”

Jeno pouts, “I cant believe you’d inconvenience a cripple like this.”

Donghyuck just shrugs and opens the back door to Jeno’s car, before hopping into the driver’s seat himself. Jeno sighs, but gets into the car too, Mark following after him. 

Donghyuck starts up the car and pulls out of the hospital car park, onto the main road. 

“Ok, Jen. One of us has gotta stay with you tonight, doc said, so who do you want?” Donghyuck asks from behind the wheel. 

Jeno looks over at Mark, opening his mouth, about to ask him to stay, when Mark sadly smiles. “I’ve got to get home. Mum doesn’t like when I stay out without her knowing a week in advance.”

Jeno sighs, “No, I get that. Jaemin’s parents are kinda strict with that sort of stuff too.”

“I’ll come over tomorrow, though?” Mark asks hopefully. 

“Of course! Just text me when you’re gonna head over,” Jeno replies, smile warming again. 

“So I’m dropping you off, then?” Donghyuck asks. 

Mark hums, “Yeah, sure.”

And Donghyuck drives to Mark’s house, blasting the radio again. 

“Are you going to sign my cast before you go?” Jeno asks, offering the marker to Mark. 

He takes the pen and uncaps it. “Where’s the fracture?” Jeno points to the outside of his forearm, just below the wrist. Mark takes Jeno’s cast and turns it so he can reach the sight of the injury, drawing a small heart, no larger than the size of a fingertip. He lets go of Jeno’s wrist and caps the pen, smiling.

Jeno twists his arm to see the little heart, confusion and hope filling his face with a gentle smile that mirrors Mark’s.

All too soon, Donghyuck pulls up on the curb in front of Mark’s house. 

“I’ll text you before I head over to yours tomorrow?” he states as a question.

Jeno’s smile pushes his eyes up into their signature crescents. “Sure! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Mark opens the back door and hops out, grabbing his stuff through the open passenger window, before walking towards his front door.

“See you, Hyuck! Thanks for driving me, Hyuck! I really appreciate you, Hyuck!” Donghyuck calls from the open car window, at Mark’s retreating back. 

Mark turns around and salutes, still walking backwards, “Ditto, man.”

Donghyuck just aggressively winds up the driver’s side window, getting caught once, before driving off with a honk. Mark heads inside and up to his room, ready for a shower and a sleep.

—-

To: Jeno :D  
hey, is it alright if i can come over to yours now?

From: Jeno :D  
sure! hyuck’s about to leave :(

To: Jeno :D  
hahaha i’ll be over soon to give you company. give me half an hour

From: Jeno :D  
:D

Mark makes his way over to Jeno’s house the next morning, after getting his address. He’d borrowed his mum’s car; the shock of Jeno breaking his arm off a skateboard scared Mark off one for a little while. 

Jeno lived a small distance away, closer to the inner city than Mark was living. 

When he arrived, Doyoung opened the door, clad in his pyjamas. 

“Jeno’s room is upstairs first on the left. I was gonna say call out if you need anything, but I’m about to go to sleep, so please don’t,” he said tiredly, motioning vaguely into the house. 

“Thanks, we’ll try to keep quiet for you,” Mark replied with a smile. 

Doyoung ruffled Mark’s hair slightly. “Good kid.”

He closed the door once Mark was inside and trudged past him into an open door in the downstairs part of the house. Mark followed his instructions and made his way upstairs, knocking lightly on what he hoped was Jeno’s door. 

Mark turned the handle after hearing a quiet, “Come in,” looking around the room. 

One wall was covered in posters of bands, the other wall Mark could see had a long vertical rack with a few skateboards hanging from there. Jeno himself was laying back on his bed, in the middle of the room. He looked up from his phone and smiled at Mark, the angle giving him a double chin. 

Mark laughed and made his way over to the bed. “How’re you feeling today?” he asked, sitting gingerly on the edge of the mattress. 

“Ehhh, as good as I could be, I guess. I took some more painkillers this morning, so I actually feel alright,” he replied, sitting up and scooching over to give Mark more room on the bed. 

“That’s good.”

They sit in slightly awkward silence for a minute, unsure of what to say to the other. 

“I’m, uh, I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable yesterday,” Jeno said eventually, before noticing Mark’s quizzical face and adding, “On the way to the hospital, the um, uh, with my lip.”

“Ohh. No, no, it’s ok, honestly,” Mark replied, looking unfazed, but with his heart beating a mile a minute. 

“I just run my mouth when I get stressed, and I wasn’t thinking about what I was saying, so I’m really sorry-“

Mark decides that Jeno is talking too much, so he grabs his uninjured hand and plants a soft kiss on the white gauze covering the healing graze that marred his palm. 

“To make it better.”

Jeno sits, stunned into silence. 

Throwing caution to the wind, trusting in Donghyuck’s words, and his truthfulness in Jeno’s feelings. Mark leans forward towards Jeno’s face and brushes his lips against the yellowing bruise on Jeno’s cheekbone.

“Gotta kiss that better too.”

He doesn’t pull back all the way, staying just inside Jeno’s bubble. At this distance he can count his eyelashes, and the little mole that sits under his right eye.

Jeno’s tongue darts out to wet his lips, and Mark’s eyes flick down at the action. There’s still a small cut at the corner of his lips, and Mark’s mouth quirks upwards in a soft grin. He blinks to look back at Jeno’s eyes, whispering, “Want me to kiss that better, too?”

Jeno’s breath hitches and his adam’s apple bobs as he swallows in anticipation. Their eyes drop slowly as they lean closer together, noses brushing against the other, until their lips are only a hairbreadth apart. There’s a stillness in the air, like the world has stopped moving in anticipation for this moment. The calm before the storm. The wait before their lips touch in a brief, but mind melting kiss, where Mark brings his hand up to cradle the back of Jeno’s neck and dance his fingertips over the short hairs at the base of his skull.

They break apart, breathing deeply, but not straying far from the other. Jeno, having gotten some confidence back, smiles cheekily, his eyes bunching up into their signature half crescents. “I don’t think that worked. You might have to try again.”

Mark lets out a breathy laugh and rubs his nose against Jeno’s in an eskimo kiss. He leans his forehead on Jeno’s and looks back into his eyes. They stare at each other for a moment longer, so overwhelmed from the moment, before Jeno laughs lightly again.

“I’m serious, though. I’d really love it if you could keep kissing me.”

Mark smiles fondly, but leans forward anyways, attaching their lips together again. They continue like that, sitting on Jeno’s bed, kissing each other as if they were living an incredible dream, one they never want to wake up from.

Until Jeno sucks in a harsh breath, one that sounded more painful than pleasured. 

“Are you ok? What happened?” Mark pulled back, both their hair mussed and lips red and swollen. 

“It’s nothing, just moved awkwardly,” Jeno said, leaning back in towards Mark’s lips. 

Mark held him back by his shoulders, giving him a pointed look. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Jeno whined lowly, puckering his lips, asking for another kiss. 

Mark laughed and gave him a sweet, chaste peck, before lying down on Jeno’s bed. Jeno sighed and fell down next to him, tucking his head under Mark’s chin. Mark wrapped his arms around Jeno’s body, careful of the places he knew were tender, lightly brushing his fingers over the spot where his arm met the cast. 

He sighed in contempt, nuzzling his nose into Jeno’s hair, breathing him in. 

The sunlight filtering through Jeno’s blinds haloed his hair and stroked his cheeks. As Mark looked at Jeno, bathed in soft light, he thought he looked like an angel.

**Author's Note:**

> twt @ UBlQUITY


End file.
